QuoteReplyTopic: New System -- Updated with Photo Posted: 03 Aug 2012 at 10:35am

Budget:
$1-4k

Expectations:
I'd like a system that will allow me to game now, and allow me to play new games on the horizon, and allow some room for growth. Reliability is my goal, and I don't mind spending a couple of extra dollars to get something that will serve well. I'm also an old lady, so aesthetics and fancy lights aren't a big deal for me.

Usage:
This system will get heavy daily use, both doing browsing/productivity stuff, light personal photo editing and lots of gaming. I've got one 19" monitor. I currently play WoW, Oblivion and Steam-based games. I'd like to try Skyrim and all sorts of other online games. I'm more MMO/RPG, not much for FPS.

Special Needs:
This system will be under my desk in a very warm room, with lots of ambient dust and cat fur. I clean the case out regularly, but I've still fried 2 graphics cards in the past due to heat issues, so I need *really* robust cooling and airflow. I plan to add-on 2 additional fans in the top slot on the Haf X case. I don't know that I want to get into liquid cooling, but I will if you all think it best.

This is my first DS system, and I may have gone a bit overboard for my needs -- I'm not sure, but I'm sure you'll tell me. Maybe I should go with a Slade system instead? 2 graphics cards? How much overclocking where? Lay it on me, please.

The HafX case is the best for air cooled systems and the top can accomodate one more 200mm fan. There is one there already. The case's front 230mm and top and side 200mm fans move lots of air.

For gaming and light photo editing you don't need the X79 motherboard and certainly don't need the expensive i7-3930k , 6 core chip. Those are for heavier photo editing, rendering, 3D modeling, etc. There is nothing wrong with it, but for your needs not needed. If in the budget it won't hurt, so your call.

8GB Ram is all you need for gaming but I did put in 16GB for the editing and because it is a cheap upgrade. The 32GB is overkill.

I dropped the psu to the 1050HX, all you need for sli, 2x gtx 670 with room to spare. The 1200w psu would be if you wanted tri-sli, 3x graphic cards.

The SSD, solid state drive is for the Win7 os and a couple of games. It boots much faster than HDD. It isn't needed but those that have it will never go back. The secondary HDD is the high capacity drive for photos, older games, downloads, pics, etc.

I put in sli, 2x gtx 670's. The single 670 has almost the same performance as the 680 for lots less. The sli 670 might be overkill for your monitor and games mentioned but allows you to move up to other games later on. You could drop to a single gtx670 and be very happy, so your call. But, for your budget, I said, what the heck.

The sli 670's would allow you to go with a 23" 1920x1080 monitor with no problem. The Dell UltraSharp U2312HM just for an example of a very good monitor. Just a thought

The Noctua D14 air cooler is tops in cooling and very relaible. Plus the Vortex 240mm cooler would mount to the top , replacing the 200mm fans.

Noise optimization is a waste of money for the HafX.

Your oc'ing is right on for the 3770 and the D14.

I would consider placing the rig on a desk if possible. On the floor is where all the dust and cat hair likes to linger and get picked up by the fans. Even a foot or two off the floor helps alot. Plus on the desk it's less likely to spill something in it or the cat to brush against it.

The Slade 550R case is a great case. As-is, it probably would get less dust/hair into it, but you'd also have alot less airflow. I would stick with the hafX, esp. if you stay with sli, 2x 670's.

I also threw in your free t-shirt and guessed Large...... I always guess Large.

The drives work well together. No problem there. The SSD loads games that are on it and Windows alot faster, but not needed if the budget is tight or someone just wants to stick with HDD. The 4gb vram on video card hasn' t shown to be much help. In a few years, maybe. The noise package is basically turning down the fan speeds. The Hafx fans already turn slow at 700rpm I believe and are relatively quiet. No sense in messing with a case done right with large slow fans and quiet. Yep, cats do like to hang-out and lounge on anything flat. We have 3 rescue cats and they never bother the case. But they are all different. Gotta love them.

One last issue I hadn't thought of before ... when browsing (and I do a lot of it), I often have multiple tabs/windows open. It isn't unusual to have a dozen browser tabs running with another program or 2 in the background as I multitask. Any tweaks I should consider to help this? Thanks!

I wanted to comment on the HAV-X case and cat hair. I have a cat with moderate long hair and he sleeps on my computer table. The computer is setting on top of the table. He loves to rub up against the computer. The screens on the computer block all of his hair and dander. When I clean the inside of the computer I find dust but never have I found cat hair. I have the HAV-922 case but the HAF-X has a similar front.

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